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June 28, 2016

Hello my wonderful readers!! It's that time again! Yes, it's time for an amazing Lynnderella giveaway!! This time, one extremely lucky winner will receive a $30 Lynnderella gift card AND 4 gorgeous polishes- Grows on Trees, Hot Spell, Chirpee Slurpee a la Menthe, and the new I Don't Mean Rhinestones. This giveaway is open to all readers and will remain open until July 7 at midnight EST. HUGE thanks to Lynnderella and Paul for providing the prizes for this fantastic giveaway. If you need any of the four polishes pictured above right now and can't wait to see if you are the winner, they are all in stock at the new and fabulous lynnderella.com.
To enter, please use the Rafflecopter widget below or the direct link here.
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June 26, 2016

I have been eyeing Essie Viva Antigua since it came out and I just couldn't resist anymore!! This gorgeous tropical turquoise with slightly golden shimmer is perfect for summer days and my upcoming vacation to Florida. I will certainly be wearing this by the pool there! Viva Antigua is a really saturated bright turquoise. I feel like recently there have been a lot of washed out pale turquoise polishes, so it's nice to have this bright pop of turquoise.

This is three thin coats. The application was good, you could most likely do two coats just fine. I am really not used to Essie's tiny brush anymore, so my first coat was a lot more sheer than it probably should have been. I am not sure where the bubble on my ring finger came from. I am hoping it's from my top coat, not the Essie, but the top coat hasn't been bubbling with any other polish, so I'm not sure. It was barely visible in real life though, so I just wore it as is!

Fun fact- the Essie summer 2016 collection was inspired by Rebecca Minkoff's travels to Antigua. My favorite handbags just so happen to be RM, I have actually have a large collection of them! So I can sport my RM-inspired nails with my bags! I'm thinking I may also have to nab Tribal Text-styles from this collection too.

June 21, 2016

Summer is officially here and I am loving it!! The weather here has been lovely lately, warm, but not muggy and gross. Not too hot, not raining all the time, it's like it's not even Connecticut! So to celebrate summer's arrival, I have the OPI Retro Summer collection for you today, starting with OPI Sailing & Nail-ing. Sailing & Nail-ing is a light blue creme. It's a little darker than a pastel, but not quite a bright blue either.

This was three thin coats. I did still have some streaks on the ring nail here. Several of the polishes in this collection had the tendency to be streaky, which I thought was strange since OPI's pastels have been fantastic recently.

OPI What's the Double Scoop? is a light rose creme. It makes me think of strawberry milkshakes or ice cream, yummmmmmm! This is a great pastel pink that isn't too stark looking or the opposite- too dusty looking.

This is three thin coats and the coverage was nice and even. No streaking problems with this one, so that's great news!

OPI Flip Flops & Crop Tops is a brighter hot pink creme. It's a classic bubblegum pink and should flatter a lot of skin tones. The sun was really bright when I swatched these, so I had to step into the shade to get an accurate photo of this one (and some others in the post), sorry if they are a bit darker than normal!

This is three thin coats and I had some streaking again. This is definitely unusual, because OPI usually knocks this kind of color out of the park.

I am so glad to see OPI do more yellows lately, like OPI Towel Me About It. Towel Me About It is a lemon pudding creme. It's nicely lemon-y, but with a touch of whipped cream (I must be hungry right now!). I am a big fan of this shade of yellow. I think it is a good pale yellow that is still bright enough for summer.

Three thin coats again. It was a bit streaky on the first two coats, but evened out on the third.

OPI I'm Getting a Tan-gerine is a dusty clementine orange creme. I am typically a huge orange fan, but I think this is maybe too dusty for my taste. Definitely an interesting shade though, so if you like dusty oranges, go for it!

This is three thin coats again. First two had some streaks, third evened it all out for me.

OPI SPF XXX is probably my favorite shade in the collection, although I'm sure I own many similar to it! SPF XXX is a dusty orange-coral creme. This is my favorite color family to wear in the summer, so it's a natural love for me!

This was two buttery, easy, awesome coats! Best formula is the collection. Below you can see that the red tones of the coral really come out in the shade/low lighting.

The OPI Retro Summer collection is available now at fine salons and Ulta.com.

I am working on a serious stash organization project right now and part of that includes swatching all of my polishes on swatch sticks. Eventually, this will make it easy for me to show you comparisons. I do have a few swatched already and will have some spring/summer comparisons to show you soon!

June 17, 2016

Just a quick Lynnderella Friday today, as I posted most of my current swatches on Monday! Lynnderella Blue Blazes is a deeply saturated cobalt that can look more purple-y depending on the lighting. It's nicely holographic too, but I had no sunshine the day I took these, so sorry!! Lynnderella describes this one as "orchid holographic microglitter accented with blazing iridescent magenta glitters. Royal blue base with multishimmer".

This applied well and was opaque in two coats. I did have to use two layers of a thick top coat (Vapid High Shine QDTC) and I still wish it was a little smoother. Another Lynnderella swatchers recommended Gelous plus Essie Gel Setter, so I will try that combo next time.

*Purchased by me*

This is my NOTD right now and I'm obsessed. The latest is Lynnderella's Goddess series, Yemaya of the Deep is a stunning teal shimmer with microglitter and a strong pink flash. It is aptly described as "turquoise-teal blue-green shimmer-glitter hybrid that features cool pink shimmer and holographic teal microglitter".

This is one coat of Yemaya over RBL Aqua Lily. They are a perfect pairing if you want to use less of your precious Lynns! Yemaya would definitely be opaque is 2-3 coats depending on application. It applied beautifully. One layer of TC and it's perfectly smooth!

June 16, 2016

Hi all, just a quick post today of a mani I wore last week- the stunning Dreamland Lacquer Aurora Four-ealis. Aurora Four-ealis was a Hella Holo Customs exclusive in April and I just got around to wearing it last week. I should have worn it sooner, because it is spectacular! The shade of icy periwinkle-ish blue is so eye-catching. The linear holo flame is super strong too and there is also a purple flash that I couldn't capture in these pictures. It's most noticeable indoors, but it's there and so pretty!

This was three thin coats. I still had a tad of VNL at two coats, so I went for the third. Very easy to apply! I did not get great wear time with this, but maybe it didn't work well with my current base/top coat combo, because Smittens/Dreamlands usually wear well for me.

So if you are enamored with this polish as much as I am, you should join Hella Holo Customs on Facebook! The sales period for Aurora Four-ealis has ended, but you can often find people willing to sell you their bottle. However, you must be a member of the group to buy it, so join now!!

June 13, 2016

Well I missed Lynnderella Friday this week due to preparation for my dance school's end of the year recital (it well went, thank goodness!). BUT, now I get to share the big news with you today! Remember I said that lynnderella.com would no longer redirect to the eBay store? That's because there is an all new, amazing lynnderella.com where you can purchase new limited edition polishes for a flat price with no auctions, bidding, waiting, etc.! Make sure you visit the site and add yourself to the mailing list- there will be special pre-sales and discount codes sent to those on the list!! Right now, there is a brand new collection of LEs on the site, including this beauty, Lynnderella Nude Beach. Nude Beach is a cooler toned, almost taupe-y nude holo glitter. Lynnderella describes it as a blend of holographic microglitter and subtle tan pigments.

This is two easy coats and it's now my favorite neutral glitter! It's insanely holo!! Very easy to apply and beautiful formula.

Next I have a new LE that is available in the eBay store. On the new website, you can click in the menu on the left "Limited Editions on eBay" and it takes you right to the eBay store. Lynnderella On the Dot With the Sky Blues has baby blue, black, and white dots in a clear base with blue shimmer and holo microglitter. You know I love my dot glitters, so this is right up my alley!

This is two dabbed coats over OPI Oh My Majesty!. It was easy to apply, I dabbed it on to spread the dots out evenly.

*Purchased by me*

I'm continuing with my core Lynnderella reswatch project and I have a couple of those for you today as well. These are all available on the new site. This beauty is Lynnderella Eggstra Pretty! Lynnderella.com says this has "scattered assorted neon, pastel satin and matte glitters in a soft, translucent lavender-white base with subtle lilac shimmer.". It is a perfect spring polish and can be layered over a variety of colors for a great pastel look! Also, it says there are only 2 left, so if you like this, hurry over and snap one up!

This is one coat over OPI I'm Gown for Anything, which is the perfect base color for this polish! It is pretty easy to apply, but the larger glitters, like that big square there, need to be moved into place a bit.

*Purchased by me*

OK I know it's not Christmas, but when I swatched OPI What's the Hatter with You?, I thought it would be a great base for Lynnderella Partridge in a Pear Tree. This is the best holiday glitter bomb! Red, green and gold are the stars of the show here, but there are accents of other festive colors to make it feel like a real party.

This is one easy coat over What's the Hatter with You?. Great application and easy to smooth out with one layer of top coat.

*Purchased by me*

Lynnderella Like Love has "neon pink, red, purple and iridescent glitters in a violet-shimmered clear base". The best parts of this polish is the iridescent glitters, they are so pretty in person!! Hard to photograph, though!

This is one coat over OPI Mad for Madness Sake. It is easy to apply. My bottle has been sitting for a few years, but I turned it upside down for about 20 minutes and it was perfect!

One more new LE for you today- Lynnderella New Yorchid is an orchid pink with lots of holo microglitter and matching orchid flakes. It's very rainbow-y in the sunshine, love it!

This is two coats, but you could probably do one thicker coat. It was nicely pigmented! It applied so smoothly and was shiny and perfect with just one layer of top coat.